Gravitation Fan Fiction ❯ Precious Moments ❯ Chapter 3 ( Chapter 3 )

Chapter 3.

Shuichi Shindou. The pink-haired ball of energy. The heart and soul of Sanjiro Shindou. The Little Brat.

These were the sort of thoughts that plagued Yuki's mind, as he lay down on his bed for that night. After their introductions, Yuki, Sanjiro, his son and the rest of the gang had spent that day in the park. Tatsuha and Shuichi were more than happy to spend their time there. He didn't think it was possible, but Yuki found an even more energetic and spirited person in Shuichi than Tatsuha. Yuki couldn't comprehend how the little brat got so hyped up. He got tired by only watching him run around with Tatsuha and display his endless amount of energy.

`The day would've been perfect if Shuichi wasn't there.' Yuki thought bitterly. This was the first time he had a chance to spend time with Sanjiro outside of his home environment. He wanted to take a long walk with him and talk about nothing and everything. He could tell that Sanjiro's attention was obviously divided. While maintaining a conversation with Yuki, Mika and Tohma, he was also keeping an eye on his son. Several times that day, Shuichi had grabbed his father's hand and dragged him off to play with them. Sanjiro had been only too happy to indulge in his son's quirks. He ran around with Shuichi and Tatsuha, picked flowers for them that were too high for their reach, and gave them piggy back rides. At the end of the day, they all had ice-cream cones from a vendor near the park.

`Yeah, like the brat actually need more sugar in his system.' Again, Yuki's thoughts were a little negative in nature towards Shuichi. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Sanjiro's face immediately popped up in his mind's eye. The way he talked, the way he smiled and the way he laughed were all appearing in Yuki's closed-eye vision. He fell asleep that night, once again, recalling everything that was Sanjiro.

*~*~*

"Aniki!"

Yuki was greeted with a heartfelt greeting from his brother that morning.

"Guess what?! Guess what?!!" Tatsuha grabbed onto Yuki's sleeve and gave it some frantic tugs. "We're going to go see Schu-Chan today."

Tatsuha said with a toothy grin and a twinkle in his dark, midnight black eyes.

It had been nearly two weeks since he had last seen Sanjiro and spent the day with him. After that day, he and Tohma had spent most of their times going over brochures from different colleges and looking through different majors. September was arriving soon, which meant that they needed to make some choices about what college they wanted to attend. Although the days had kept him pretty much occupied, the nights were all his. He went to sleep every night thinking about Sanjiro, and coming up with different plans to confess his love to him. So far, all his plans involved him embarrassing himself silly. He had overlooked the fact that Sanjiro had a son. In his musings, he had completely forgotten the fact that a person named Shuichi Shindou existed. Now the realization that Sanjiro wasn't all alone in the world hit him like a ton of bricks, disguised in the form of a 7 year old boy.

He extracted his sleeve from his brother's iron-like grip, muttering "Leave me alone, Tatsuha."

He sat down at the breakfast table, where his father was already seated. He had already finished his meal, and was now immersed in the morning's paper, slowly sipping his coffee. Tatsuha sat down across from Yuki, on the other side of their father.

"Daaad!! Make Yuki take me to Shu-Chan's house." He said in a whiny tone.

Mr. Uesugi put down the paper and looked over at Yuki.

"You should go over to Sanjiro's house Yuki. It will be a nice change of pace. Since Tatsuha is starting 2nd grade and Shuichi is starting 1st grade, you can go with Sanjiro and purchase their school supplies."

"Can't Sanjiro do that on his own?"

Yuki pretended to sound uninterested, but inside he was hopping up and down at the anticipation of seeing Sanjiro again.

"I'm sure he could do it on his own." Mr. Uesugi was saying. "But he could use some company. That boy's been working too hard and pushing himself over the limit. That's why I gave him the day off to relax. And from what I've observed, you two have made good friends. So it'll be nice if you spend some time with him."

"Hmm, if you put it that way. O.K. we'll go."

Yuki said, nodding in Tatsuha's direction.

"But I don't know where he lives."

"Don't worry. I'll send the driver back from work and he'll drop you off." Mr. Uesugi said standing up. He took out his wallet and extracted several bills. He handed them over to Yuki.

"Make sure you get everything Tatsuha needs. Have a good day you two." With that he took off.

"O.K Tatsuha, go and get changed. The driver will be back in 20 minutes."

Yuki shooed his brother to his room and made for his own to get changed. At least it will be just the four of them today. Mika was taking Tohma with her to meet some of her friends. `Maybe Tatsuha will keep Shuichi occupied and I could have a chance to be alone with Sanjiro.' Yuki thought to himself as he made his way up the stairs.

*~*~*

"We're here!"

Tatsuha was jumping up and down in his seat.

The driver had stopped the car in front of a modest one story house. There was a small yard in the front of the house. Many tall, shady trees were lined along the road.

Yuki and Tatsuha stepped off and Tatsuha immediately ran over to the front door and rang the door bell. Several times. The door opened a few moments later by a smiling Sanjiro.

"I know only two people who ring the bell like that. And one of them is inside."

He bent over and picked up Tatsuha. He held him up high in the air in front of him.

"Hey Tatsu-Chan. How you doing?"

Tatsuha, who had started laughing when picked up, answered breathlessly.

"I'm fine."

"Good."

Sanjiro kissed his forehead and put him down. He then extended his hand out to Yuki.

"Welcome to my humble abode!"

Yuki smiled and stepped inside. Sanjiro was wearing faded blue-jeans and a plain white T shirt. Yuki couldn't believe how the man could look so beautiful and so incredibly sexy in the simplest outfit like that.

Sanjiro's house was just as nice on the inside as it was on the outside. Upon entrance, there was a small hallway which lead into the living room. Beyond the living room were two different doors, presumably leading to bedrooms. The kitchen was to the side, and by the looks of it, the father and son had just finished eating breakfast. To Yuki the place was just perfect.

He entered the living room and made for the sofa. The sofas were made of soft gray leather, whereupon sitting, Yuki felt himself sinking in. Right in front of the seated area, there was a large entertainment system, with a huge 31" screen t.v., stereo system, DVD player, and a VCR. A few Scooby Doo and Winnie the Pooh bean bag chairs were scattered on the floor. Tatsuha had quickly sat down on a Scooby Doo chair, and pulled out Shuichi's Play Station. He was now happily playing the game that was already in there.

Yuki turned his gaze over to the pictures that lined the wall. The pictures showed Shuichi in different stages of childhood. One picture that particularly caught Yuki's interest was one in which Sanjiro stood smiling broadly next to a sleek and slender woman, with long, light blonde hair. She too had a large smile on her face, and was holding what looked like a one year old Shuichi in her arms. Sanjiro's arms were around the woman's shoulders and were holding both her and the baby in a close embrace.

Yuki got up to take a closer look at the picture when a pink hurricane bumped into him nearly toppling him over. Yuki shot out his arms and grabbed the small creature by the middle and held him close. After taking a deep breath or two, he looked down. A pair of smiling, mischievous violet eyes were staring up at him. Yuki felt frozen for a few moments and stared into Shuichi's eyes as if trying to comprehend what just happened. Yuki must have been scowling because there was a sudden droop that appeared over Shuichi's features.

"S….sorry. I was going to say hi to Tatsu-Chan."

Shuichi said, stuttering a bit. Yuki creased his brows down at him.

"That's o.k."

He unwound his arms and put Shuichi down. Shuichi, who was still pajama clad, ran over to Tatsuha and sat down on the other bean bag chair. He grabbed the other controller, and the game resumed.

"A little hand-full, aren't they?" Sanjiro's voice piped up from behind. He came around and sat down on the sofa.

"At least they keep you on your toes. Sometimes I feel as though I can't keep up with Shuichi. He's just so full of life." Sanjiro said smiling at Shuichi, who was now arguing with Tatsuha about different game strategies.

"So, Dad told me you wanted to do some shopping for your son." Yuki asked as he sat down.

"Yeah. Better do it now then when everyone is rushing to the malls. Plus, I really don't want to take these two to a crowded place." Sanjiro said, gesturing in their direction.

"What time do you want to go?" Yuki inquired.

He couldn't care less whether they stayed home or went out. As long as he was in Sanjiro's company, he was fine.

"Hey relax Yuki. We'll leave in a little while. You're in Case De Shindou. So, put your feet up and settle down." Sanjiro said laying back, winking at Yuki. He then sat up immediately.

"Oh gosh, where are my manners. What would you like Yuki? Tea? Coffee? Soda? Juice?"

Yuki laughed out loud as he listed out things after things.

"I'd like some tea, if it isn't too much hassle." Said Yuki.

"Of course it isn't." Sanjiro said smiling, and went into the kitchen.

Yuki got up himself, and went over to take a closer look at the picture again. This time, he made it there without any `interruption'.

The woman in the picture looked even more beautiful up close. She had a heart-shaped face and large violet eyes, identical to those of Shuichi. They looked like a perfect little happy family.

Yuki looked up when Sanjiro came back in holding a tray. On it were two steaming cups of hot tea, and two glasses with orange juice and Aladdin straws. Sanjiro placed the tea cups on the table, and put the tray down in front of the boys. Who immediately started sipping, although keeping their eyes on the screen, and one hand on their controllers.

Sanjiro had noticed Yuki looking at the picture. As he sat down and picked up his cup, he gestured to the picture.

"Serena Shindou. My late wife."

Yuki picked up his own cup and took a sip. He looked back at the picture and then at Sanjiro, who was staring into his cup.

"If you don't mink me asking….."

"Car crash." Sanjiro said without looking up. "She was on her way home from work, when her car collided with a van. The driver in the van was very drunk. Serena died on the spot." Sanjiro's voice was strangely monotonous.

"I am really sorry." Yuki said.

Sanjiro looked up and offered him a smile. He then looked over at Shuichi.

"She really loved him a lot. She had lots of high hopes and dreams for him. He was very young when she left us, so he doesn't really remember her. Better that way, I suppose."

Yuki was regretting asking about his wife. He felt guilty that he awakened all these sad memories in Sanjiro. His face must have shown discomfort, because Sanjiro suddenly gave a laugh.

"Well, no use dwelling in the past, is there? So tell me what you've been up to since I've seen you last."

Yuki heaved a silent sigh of relief and proceeded to tell him about what he had been busy with. They talked for a long while, discussing several options for Yuki. There talk then steered in different directions. Tatsuha and Shuichi were still engaged enthusiastically in their game.

While maintaining the conversation, Yuki kept going over in his mind different ways to reveal his feelings. Maybe he could just tell him outright what he feels toward him. Or he could muster up a lot of courage and kiss him. That would surely let him know how Yuki feels about him. There was always the fear of rejection, but it was a chance he would have to take.

He came out of his thoughts when Sanjiro snapped his fingers in front of his face. He blinked his golden eyes several times, as if coming out of a deep sleep.

"You still with us champ? I thought we lost you for a minute there." Sanjiro said in a teasing way.

Yuki gave a sheepish smile and shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, I was `trying' to tell you that we'll leave in a few minutes. I just have to get Shuichi ready, than we're out of here."

Sanjiro said and went over to Shuichi. He picked him up by the middle and draped him over his shoulders, while Shuichi protested loudly.

"Daaaaddddyyyy!! Put me down. I was winning."

Sanjiro ignored the protests and bounded into Shuichi's room. The reemerged several minutes later. Shuichi was now supporting a white T Shirt with a Blue's Clues logo on the front, and blue-jean shorts, that went down to just below his knees. His wild bubble-gum pink hair also looked tamer then before.

They all made their way over to Sanjiro's car, which was parked just outside his house. Yuki got himself settled in the front seat while Sanjiro strapped Shuichi and Tatsuha's seat belts on.

He got behind the wheel and turned the key in the ignition.

"Well, here we go." He said. "We're going to a mall with a nearly endless chain of stores. And we're taking two toddlers with completely endless amounts of energy and really fast legs."

Sanjiro looked at back seat. Both Shuichi and Tatsuha offered him their most angelic smiles. Sanjiro looked over at Yuki who was observing with a hint of amusement in his eyes. Sanjiro winked at him and said.

"May God have mercy on our souls."

With that, he put the car in drive and took off down the road.

*~*~*

TBC.